


A Love (Not) Meant to Be

by hopecanbeyoursword



Series: one heart to another [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon but with Soulmates, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Hydra Grant Ward, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, One Shot, Soulmates, but I'd rather tag them to be safe, consistent verb tense doesn't exist in this story, ends with StaticQuake, from episode one, love doesn't conquer everything, only touched on, rating for swearing, skyeward doesn't end happy, some direct dialogue, starts as SkyeWard, those are from canon, through the middle of season three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24463153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopecanbeyoursword/pseuds/hopecanbeyoursword
Summary: You have to fight for what you care about, what you believe in. But sometimes, that means you have to say goodbye to your soulmate.Skyeward & StaticQuake
Relationships: Kara Lynn Palamas/Grant Ward, Leo Fitz & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Antoine Triplett, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Grant Ward
Series: one heart to another [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806340
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	A Love (Not) Meant to Be

_“You don’t look that big.”_

The words had been on her wrist as long as she could remember. She knew what they were, was told at the orphanage, but not how much they could mean.

“They’re your soulwords,” was the explanation she got. “The first words your soulmate will say to you.”

Skye had no idea what context they were in, or how old she would be when she met them, or if she even wanted to. With almost no real examples of love in her life, she learned to hide behind smiles, covering the words with a stack of bracelets.

When she left the orphanage, she took the walls she constructed. She laughed, and flirted, and batted her eyes when she got stuck in tricky situations. Soulmates were special, but some people never met them. And even if she did, she could always lie.

Skye fended for herself, living in her van, and joining the Rising Tide. Even though she didn’t know most of the other members, had never met them, they were the closest thing she had to a family.

She wanted to hold on to them.

—

_“Oh. Is one of them the easy way?”_

He only told those who had to know what his words were. When he joined SHIELD, he was required to register his words, to see if they’d match with another agent, or in the case he died and hadn’t met them, that the agency could find them.

When he was young, and he was stuck in his childhood home with his family, he hoped that his soulmate would save him. That she would hold him when he needed it, and laugh with him when he did something stupid. She would be the one person who he could love and trust, who would love and trust him right back.

Until his brother made him throw their younger brother down a well, and he knew Thomas was supposed to die. Because if she wasn’t there at one of the worst times of his life, wasn’t there to hold him in the dark when he broke, he didn’t need her. And when John Garrett took him in, he had to shove her aside. Soulmates were a weakness. They didn’t save you. They would only spell danger, because they could be used against you.

So when Grant shed his first name, becoming Garrett’s protege and then Agent Ward, he left her in his past, covered by long-sleeved shirts, or the special skin-like graft that two SHIELD agents created.

A soulmate would only slow him down.

—

As she was led up a ramp by the two agents who had grabbed her from her van, Skye almost wished she hadn’t been following Mike Peterson. She was fully aware that SHIELD wanted information she had, and she needed them to come to her. She had gotten good at putting on a shocked face over the years, so she let them think they were ahead of her. But the mission she had been given by the Rising Tide was big. It was important. Lying was one thing. But finding a way to get close to a team, get them to trust her, to create memories that she would have to shatter when she left, was different. However, she had no way out. Miles, and everyone else, was counting on her.

When the bag was taken off her head, Skye made sure to keep a calm, composed look on her face. She couldn’t let them know she was nervous. She had the upper hand. She needed them to figure that out.

“You guys are making a big mistake.”

She didn’t let herself look directly at either, knowing she needed to let them think that they had the upper hand.

“You don’t look that big.”

Skye glanced up in shock, rubbing her wrist. The warmth and sharp tug she was told about when your words were said was happening. This man, the younger of the two (she didn’t even know his name), that kidnapped her, was her soulmate.

“Sorry for the lack of finesse,” the other one cut in before she could figure out if she should say something or not, making the choice for her. “Agent Ward here—”

_And there was his name. Sort of._

“Has had a little history with your group— the Rising Tide.”

“I don’t know… what you’re—” Skye was still in shock of finding her soulmate, making her unable to put together a full sentence as she spoke to the older man. She found the person she wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet.

“Okay, there are two ways we can do this,” Agent Ward started.

“Oh,” Skye slipped on a sweet smile, contradicting her mocking tone. “Is one of them the easy way?”

“No.” Ward blinked as he felt a sharp tug coming from under his sleeve. He blinked twice more in quick succession, shaking off the revelation that whoever was in front of him, was his soulmate. He couldn’t afford to get to know her if they were just using her for information.

“Oh.” She blinked back at him, before ducking her head.

“What’s your name?” Coulson asked, unaware that the other two in the room had just bonded.

“Skye.”

“What’s your real name?” Ward looked directly at her for the first time. Though he knew he wasn’t supposed to want her, that they were likely going to leave her when they had their next mission, he wanted to look into her. See what kind of person she was.

“We don't have time for that.” Coulson took over, and both Skye and Ward tried to push the thought away, but she did sneak a glance at him. While he seemed very stoic and secretive, she did have to admit he was nice to look at.

When she was left alone with Ward, who was under a truth serum, she didn’t use it the way she was sure he thought she would. She didn't even come close to the topic of soulmates, which he was both relieved and confused about. He had prepared himself for his soulmate to be someone who wanted it, who wanted to get to know him. Instead, his soulmate seemed just as wary about meeting him as he was her.

The whole mission, she watched him, observing. She talked to the two younger agents, the scientists ( _soulmates!_ ), holding conversations while one eye stayed trained on Agent Ward.

And when she was given the opportunity to stay on the plane, she didn't think about him, or the fact that she knew she could become close with Fitz and Simmons, that Coulson seemed pretty cool, and that while May was super intimidating, she could learn from the older agent. No, instead she thought about the Rising Tide, what they wanted from her.

She said yes.

—

Ward knew she was fully aware of the situation, but they didn’t talk about it. If he talked to her, it was professional on his end, and usually joking on her end. She wore long sleeves or bracelets, barely allowing any of the black to be seen. It was clear she was used to it, as the bracelets were stacked well. And he had taken to wearing long sleeves, only putting the skin graft on when training.

They didn’t tell anyone.

Which led to Ward becoming Skye’s SO when she decided to stay. Soulmates weren’t allowed to train each other, or with each other, if they happened to both become SHIELD agents. Soulmates were allowed to work with each, as Fitz and Simmons did, but field training was different. While soulmates usually solidified their loyalty to SHIELD, since their other half was loyal, it could be dangerous in the field. It made people reckless-- compromising the integrity of the mission to save their soulmate.

It should've applied to Skye and Ward. They should’ve told their team, at least Coulson, if not Maria Hill, as she was in charge of the soulmate information. She was the only one Fury trusted with the information.

But they stayed quiet, and in the early hours of the morning when he taught her how to shoot a gun, the silence became companionable instead of strained.

They still didn't touch upon the elephant in the room, but they allowed lingering gazes when the other wasn't looking, and Ward allowed himself to touch her when handing her the gun, or adjusting her arms.

Skye teased him, coming up with nicknames, and he just sighed. He watched her get close with the scientists, and develop a bond with Coulson. She fit in so well, the one variable that neither he, nor Garrett, had planned on.

He stayed off to the sidelines as he watched her laugh, find her spot on the team. At one point, for a brief moment, he let himself dream of a future where he and Skye could escape everything expected of them, and be together. Or where she joined Hydra, and even though they couldn't tell anyone they were soulmates, they could be together.

But this was a different world.

In this world, Skye was finding her family with the team. She proved herself, and she was on her way to becoming a great agent.

Skye loved what she was doing, even with all the training, sore muscles, and intense missions. For the first time, she felt at home where she was. The team was welcoming to her, opening up more after she helped bring Coulson back.

Even though her world had been turned upside down by the information Coulson told her about herself, she knew she was where she belonged. With the people who cared about her, who protected her while she was growing up. She was going to go forward, and make sure that all the agents, especially Agent Avery, didn't die in vain. They saved her, and she was going to honor what they gave.

It didn’t matter where she was from, or who she was. She knew who she wanted to be. If she did turn out to be an 084 in the way people knew, she would deal with it when it came up.

Until then, she was going to train and learn.

—

No one knew they were soulmates until Skye was shot.

As Ward stood with his team, watching as Simmons (she was Simmons, not Jemma, because that would mean he had gotten attached and he had to constantly remind himself of that) frantically tried to save the hacker’s life, his stomach dropped. Even though he had been trained not to want a soulmate, and tried to keep her at an arm's distance, choosing professional over personal, he didn’t want to anymore. Garrett knew that Ward had a soft spot for Skye, but had no idea why. Ward wasn’t going to tell his mentor he had met his soulmate. Instead, he told the man that Skye had skills that could be helpful to Hydra. It was the only way he could think of to try and keep her safe.

But she wasn’t safe. She was dying, and if she died, the words on his skin would fade to gray. He would have to report that, and everyone would know.

The words felt wrong when he tried to say them. Ever since Garrett had told him soulmates make you weak, he had trained himself to believe it. Everyone knew not to bring up the topic around him. But now, she was dying, and he didn’t know what he would do if she did.

Ward knew the team was concerned about him. He never showed emotions like the ones he couldn’t help that slipped out when he saw her pale face.

This wasn’t part of the plan. She wasn’t supposed to be hurt. Garrett said he’d keep her out of it because Ward had a soft spot for her. But he knew it would’ve been worse if Garrett knew it was because they were soulmates. Soulmates were a weakness, and Garrett would make sure she was out of the picture. For good.

Simmons had been the first to approach him. She had found him sitting besides Skye’s bed when she came to check her vitals. They were frantically trying to figure out what to do. After they decided to try and find where Coulson was treated, the stakes rose. There was nothing SHIELD could do for the hacker. They had one last chance, and Simmons was feeling the pressure of keeping her friend alive.

Ward had never seen Skye’s bare wrists before, but Simmons had to remove the bracelets to hook Skye up. He saw the words, and all he could do was run his finger over where his were hidden. Taking a deep breath, Ward took the graft off for the first time when not alone. He pressed his wrist carefully against Skye’s. Even without their bond fully completed, it still had a smilier affect to what he had been hoping for. She would have to be awake and willing to seal the bond, but even a half-formed one had positive benefits.

Soulwords pressed against each other helped calm both halves. Two souls, destined for each other, who helped heal each other. Ward never had much stock in it, but he was desperate. As hedid so, his eyes closed, and he felt calm. He had been on edge since the team was started, knowing what would happen if he failed, or if they found out who he was.

His breaths evened out, and the tension bled out of his shoulders. He could hear the steady beeping of Skye’s heart monitor, comforted that at least she was in stable condition.

“What—” he heard Simmons speak, awe in her voice. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know she was looking at him.

Feeling awkward, Ward opened his eyes. He looked over to where Simmons turned her attention. Skye’s vitals were better than they had since she had been shot.

_Huh. Maybe that soulmate healing thing has some truth to it._

“Does Coulson know?”

Ward shook his head. He knew there was no getting out of this conversation. He had been the one to bring it to attention when he reached out for Skye, so he knew whatever happened next was on him. “We're the only two who know. Well, now you, too.”

Simmons hesitated. “What you two decided about your bond is your business, but if you being here helps stabilize Skye until we get there, I’m going to have to ask you to stay. I know you were supposed to go with Garrett, Coulson and Fitz, but I’m not sure if we can risk you going down. For Skye's sake.”

“And you would have to tell Coulson the truth for that.” Ward knew that Simmons was obligated to report her findings. But he also knew that if Coulson knew, if he found out then, that Garrett would know, too. And he couldn't afford that. "I don't want to risk her health. But I know that Garrett and Coulson need my expertise. I wish I could stay.” And he did. “But I trust her with you.” He knew how much weight that statement carried. Trusting your soulmate's life with someone was a huge sign of trust. One that wasn’t given away; it was earned. And even though Ward's life was full of lies, this was not one. “I’ll stay here with her until I have to go, and be back as soon as I can. And once Garrett gets Quinn out of here, and Skye's okay, I’ll tell them.”

Simmons looked unsure, but she stood up straighter. Skye was her friend, her family, and she would do everything in her power to make sure she survived. Being trusted with her life, by the hacker's soulmate, was big. “Fine. But if you don’t tell them, I will.” She leveled him with a look, letting him know she was serious.

He nodded.

—

When Skye was healed, and Garrett and Quinn were gone (the latter of whom had been interrogated thoroughly by Ward, because no one did that to his soulmate and got away with it), they asked the rest of their team to sit down, and listen to what they needed to tell them.

Jemma smiled softly at Skye, glad her friend was telling them the truth. It would change the dynamics of the team, but after Skye's recovery, she knew whatever was between the two was changing as well. If they wanted to be together, they couldn't hide it, not when everyone lived in such close quarters to each other.

Skye smiled backwards, before turning to the whole group. Ward’s steady presence was at her side, and she was thankful he wasn’t making her do it alone. She knew how awkward he was about feelings, and she knew neither of them started on this team with the intention of finding their soulmate, or doing much about it. But things had changed.

Reaching for the bracelets around her wrist, Skye pulled them off. For the first time, willingly, she was showing someone her words. She was thankful that while Jemma had seen them in order to give medical attention, she had made sure no one else did.

“I never thought I was going to find my soulmate. I don’t think I even wanted to, to be honest. But when I came onto this plane for the first time, I heard them. I’ve known who my soulmate was from that day, and I didn't tell anyone."

Ward reluctantly took the graft off his arm. This was a rare show of emotion and vulnerability for him, especially towards the team. He never planned on this happening, never thought he would ever feel anything more than indifference for them. “Skye said my words that first day we brought her here.”

—

There were lectures after the reveal, as there were added dangers of soulmates working together. However, they had proved they wouldn't let that get in the way of a mission. They worried about each other as a team would, but no one had ever seen anything that would indicate a relationship stronger than friends.

Coulson had decided that while Ward wouldn’t completely stop training Skye, he could no longer train her on his own. It was a compromise: May would step in and assist in training, and no one besides their team would need to know. The Clairvoyant wanted information badly, and they didn’t need them to have one more thing to use against them. One known pair of soulmates on their team was already dangerous enough, but no one would even think to split Fitz and Simmons up.

It was something Ward immediately agreed to. He needed to keep Skye safe from Garrett, and Coulson was giving him that opportunity.

—

Hydra was in SHIELD.

It was something Skye wished wasn't true, but couldn’t deny. She felt a thrum of energy in her chest, desperation to make sure her team, her family, was safe.

She and Ward stayed at each other’s side, trying to find the others. Their newly defined relationship was still fresh, but Skye knew what she felt. It was something that had slowly been building under her skin, until then, when she felt almost ready to burst with it.

It was the soulmate bond, fully alive, something that they had done before heading into the fight. For all they knew, it would be their last one. Being fully, officially bonded meant their connection was stronger. It gave them almost a sixth sense about each other. They were more hyper-aware of each other. Of the other's movements before it happened, of thought process, of pain, of emotion.

It was supposed to help soulmates understand each other, to help them love each other.

It also served as a right to each other if one died. SHIELD especially took it seriously. Soulmates, whether fully bonded or not, had special rights when it came to each other. They could speak for each other if one could not, whether it was about property or health. If they were bonded, no one could overrule their call. If a SHIELD agent died, their soulmate would choose what happened. Would there be a simple service, or one with full honors? If they weren't an agent, they were allowed to know how their soulmate had died, as much as safety protocols allowed, because if more lives would be saved hiding a detail, it was kept quiet. If they were an agent, it would give them time off with full accommodations for as long as they needed, and a right to finishing whatever mission their soulmate had died on.

It allowed them to find justice and closure.

—

She loved Grant Ward. She knew that, even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone. The soulmate bond tended to speed up the process, as long as there was some attraction. Which is why she was especially anxious and heartbroken when Garrett turned out to be Hydra. The look on her soulmate’s face tugged at her heartstrings. She could feel the anguish and confusion of the discovery, of the men and women being led down the hallway.

Skye knew he had to be the one to deliver Garrett to the Fridge. So she let him go, with a quick kiss to his cheek when she knew no one was looking. Their relationship was still new, and while their team was aware they were soulmates, no one else besides Maria Hill knew. Skye had only used PDA in the past to distract and throw people off, and Grant wasn’t a huge fan of showing emotions to people he didn't trust.

She let herself be walked back with her team, trying to clear her head. Other people, like Trip, were hurting, too. There was a lot to be done to avenge those who had died at the hands of Hydra.

It was time to fight.

—

The gun was a familiar weight in Ward’s hand as he raised it, knowing Victoria Hand believed he was going to shoot Garrett. Instead, he turned it on the agents accompanying them, two clean bullets killing them instantly.

He took more time with Hand, shooting her more than once. She didn’t die until the third bullet hit her.

Ward's face was carefully wiped clean of emotion. He had killed before, and there was no doubt he would again. But it was that moment that set his path in stone. He knew he could’ve done what Hand had expected him to.

The years of following Garrett’s orders, the blind loyalty, overruled every other part of him. It was too engrained to throw away.

—

Skye was relieved when Ward made it back, alive and safe.

The bond had been quiet, but her words were still black.

Whatever happened, he wasn’t ready to tell her just yet. She knew he wasn't telling her everything when he offered a few words up.

She could feel the tension he was carrying, likely from the injuries he had sustained. Skye waited anxiously outside the room where Ward was going through the lie detector.

When he emerged, she offered a smile.

—

They were both left at the base while the majority of the team left on a mission. May was the only other person, besides Koenig, at the base with them.

Skye hoped to use her down time to pull up the video feed from the Fridge, figure out what May was up to, and spend some time with her soulmate.

While she managed to do the first one after a little difficulty, and permission, the second didn't seem like an option, since the woman left.

Reeling from the news, Skye hoped she and Ward could have a few minutes of peace, just the two of them. Their lifestyle didn't allow for a typical dating atmosphere. She was thankful that he seemed willing to sit and drink while they talked, opening up a little more because it was just them. He had disappeared for half an hour after May had left, but appeared at her side when she had gone searching for something to do, a smile directed at her.

“Different bad?” The conversation had taken a turn Skye hadn’t quite expected. She was fully aware Ward didn’t really want to meet his soulmate. It didn’t hurt, because she had been the same. They had both been wary around each other at the start, but it had changed. They were talking about her, now, and she wanted to know what he truly thought, nothing held back.

“Bad for me. I didn’t want to think about you. I wanted to stay focused. And then I saw you after you were shot… fighting to stay alive?” He shook his head, hand curling into a fist. Neither of them liked to think about that event very much.

It was quiet, in the wake of his words, for a moment, until Ward started speaking again. “There are things about me that you wouldn’t like if you knew.”

“You don’t think I have skeletons?”

“It’s different. You’re… good.” He was looking at her earnestly. Ward knew that she was good, far better than him. She didn’t have the body count he did, hadn't lied to the team like he had.

“So are you.”

“Not always.” He didn't try and argue with her. She saw him differently to how he saw himself, mainly because she didn't know who he really was, and he wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.“I lied to you. My older brother … he didn’t beat up my younger brother. He was crueler than that. He made _me_ do it. And I let him. I was afraid of him.” The memory was still raw, like it had just happened yesterday, instead of over two decades ago. A memory he had never dared utter to another living being. He had lied a lot in his life, but he had never told more truths than he did to Skye.

“What about your parents?”

“They were worse. I am not a good man, Skye.” _If only she knew how true that was._

“Hey… yes you are.” She reached out for him. He could see sincerity in her eyes, feeling calm radiating off of her as she soothed him. In that moment, she completely trusted him.

He closed his eyes as they kissed, trying to carve the feeling into his memories, wanting to be able to remember every detail when his privilege to be around her was revoked.

The stupid scratch marks on his neck starting to bleed ruined the moment, and he stepped away to wipe away the evidence, promising Skye he would be right back.

—

He forced a smile onto his face as he walked back. He was used to lying. It was nothing new, and he had never had a problem with it before. But it’s different with her. With his soulmate. Because they aren’t supposed to lie to each other, to turn on each other. He shouldn’t be working against her like this, even if she doesn’t know it.

Because they are finally something. Something still relatively new and undefined (despite a complete bond), but something. It calms a part of him, relaxing him. Logically, he knows it’s because soulmates have a soothing affect on each other. They help stabilize each other. They are supposed to love each other for all their flaws and insecurities, but Ward doubts that included this. What he’s doing.

So even though he was open and honest in his conversation with her before he left, and even though she accepted his awful childhood with open arms, and even though when they kissed he felt like everything could be okay, he didn’t change his path.

He expected to find her sitting where he left her, only a few minutes ago.

But she was gone.

—

Something was wrong.

Skye was on edge. Most of the team was gone, leaving just her and Grant with Koenig at the base. Against her better judgement (because she had been told not to), she grabbed the tablet to check where they were. She wanted to find Koenig, and she was relieved to find him in a storage room. She tracked him down, confused when there was no response when she called out for him, confused when a penny dropped to the floor in front of her when she opened the door. She picked up up, slipping it into her pocket before moving until she was exactly where he was supposed to be.

She was about to turn around and leave, trying to convince herself the technology was faulty, until drops of blood landed on the screen. Looking up, her world turned upside down.

She knew. She knew what had to have happened. There was only one person who could've done it. And judging by the tracking devices in their lanyards, he was looking for her. Choking back a scream, Skye scrambled to get out of the room.

_Think_. The voice reaching out to her sounded a lot like May. _How do you outsmart the enemy?_

Shakily, Skye opened the door again. She put the coin back where it was, knowing it would allow him to know if anyone had been in there. She couldn't let him know that she knew. Still panicking, but a little more clear headed, she slipped into the bathroom when she heard his voice call out for her. She didn't know what he would do if he found out that she knew. She let herself have a few more moments to process and panic, before she forced herself into action.

When the team came back, Skye needed them to know what happened, whether she was there or not. Because Ward was tricky, and he couldn’t be around when the team found Koenig. And as much as he had lied, she knew he wouldn’t let her take the fall.

So she left a note. She knew they wouldn’t want to believe it. Hell, she didn’t want to. But they needed to know that she didn’t leave with him like that. Skye hoped Fitz or Simmons found it because they were observant and saw things others didn’t. She knew they would know something was wrong when one of the images didn’t match the others. She just hoped neither of them were the ones to find Koenig.

A nail file jammed in the corner to keep the projection on night ensured her message, three simple words, hidden, until the team could find them. Steeling herself, and after making sure her face didn’t give away obvious signs of tears and panic, she made her way towards where he was. The storage room, to check and see if she had found out what happened. But her knowing would remain a secret. Because she knew what the penny had been for, and made sure to replace it.

“Hey,” she called out to him from a few feet down the hall, arms crossed in front of her chest.

She watched him look up, a forced look of nonchalance on his face as he tucked the penny into his pocket.

“Think I’d be hiding in a closet?” She raised her eyebrow at him.

He looked relieved to see her in front of him. “I was wondering where you went. I went back to the room. You weren’t there. Why did you leave?” The question was meant to be innocent, but Skye knew the truth.

“Truth?” Skye knew a lie was her only way out, but she had to play it well. Play off the insecurities she had that he knew about. He opened up to her earlier (as good of a liar as he was, she could tell his admission about his childhood had not been a lie), and she could act like she was doing the same. When she brought up the kiss, the look on his face would have hurt, if she didn’t know who he really was.

He was insecure about her feelings for him. She knew that, even if he tried to hide it. Soulmates could read each other well. Apparently not enough, but she still knew more about him than most. So she knew which buttons to push. Despite the fact that he was the enemy, part of her needed to soothe him. She hated it, but couldn’t help it. So she assured him she liked the kiss, and she watched his face relax. And when he said he didn’t want to scare her, she knew it was true.

Skye let herself have one more moment with him, a one-sided goodbye. Because fate may have decided they would be a perfect match, but she couldn’t be with someone like him.

She might physically have to go somewhere with him, but she was not going to let the fact that they were soulmates keep her from doing the right thing.

Love couldn’t conquer all.

—

“What I want, is to stay here with you, and imagine the world outside doesn’t exist.” He looked at her, the woman he loved, his soulmate, and told the truth. He wanted to forget Hydra and SHIELD, and everything else, and just be with her. He let what Garrett told him would make him weak, and embraced it anyways.

He was relieved that Skye hadn’t found out what he’d done. She would never go willingly with him anywhere if she knew, and that would mean he would have to get rid of her.

And Ward couldn’t hurt her. The one person he couldn’t bear to lay a finger on.

Something was off about her, but he brushed it off, figuring it was exactly what she told him. He had training, could read her well enough without the added soulmate angle. In that moment, he was sure she couldn’t lie to him. He could feel her nerves, but she smiled at him in a way that erased any doubt.

The next lies came easily, but with a sense of urgency. They needed to be gone when the team got back. He needed the hard drive decrypted, and he and Garrett had discovered that Skye was the only one who could do it.

It would’ve been easier if they had been able to decrypt it, and he didn’t have to come back. The time he spent with Skye would only hurt more when he ended up leaving. So he vowed to enjoy his last few hours with her.

He was on edge as he watched her type away at her keyboard, trying to focus on memorizing her face instead of wondering if they were going to be caught. The process was taking much longer than he thought it was going to, but he had to trust what Skye was telling him.

His heart dropped when she turned her screen around to show him the tip off she sent to the police. His face, glaring out at the screen, looking angry and intense.

“Hail Hydra,” she hissed.

She knew.

—

Skye was pissed.

Ward really thought she didn’t know, thought he could pull one over on her. He thought that his shady-ass behavior at the base before they left wasn’t obvious. Anyone would’ve been able to tell he was lying, and she was his goddamn soulmate, which meant she could read him better than anyone.

She slipped away as quick as she could, even going as far to steal a police car, but Deathlok caught up to her before she could get away.

When she woke up, she was on the bus, with Ward and Mike. Anger was burning in her stomach as she glared at Ward, only getting stronger as he started to talk.

“I can explain.”

She strode forward, shoving him away from her. “You lying bastard! Son of a bitch, you lying—” She stopped when he moved to restrain her arms, choosing to use her head instead. She felt satisfied as he stumbled backwards as she caught his face with the top of her head. She didn’t want him to have any ideas about her being able to forgive him.

She struggled as he handcuffed her to the railing. “All this time. Everything we’ve been through. Why?” The part of her that still wanted to believe it was a lie was getting smaller and smaller. She was angry and upset, and broken hearted that the man she was supposed to be with, had only been using what was supposed to be their family. “How could you?” _How could you do this to me?_

“I was on a mission. It wasn’t personal.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “It wasn’t _personal?_ You did not just say that. It wasn’t personal? Lying and betraying your team, your soulmate, wasn’t fucking personal?”

“Skye.” His voice was less angry, almost resigned. He looked at her in a way that she would’ve given into even two days ago. “Listen to me.”

“God, you might actually believe that. That is the twisted logic that they teach you when you sign up to be a Nazi.”

“Stop. Wait. I’m not a Nazi.”

“Yes, you are. That is exactly what you are. It’s in the SHIELD handbook. Chapter one. The Red Skull, founder of Hydra was a big fat fricking Nazi.”

“It’s not like that. I’m a spy. I had a job.”

“You’ve killed I don’t know how many people. You going to kill me now?”

The shock on his face at the question would’ve been funny in a different situation. “No. I would never hurt you.”

Skye snorted. “Yeah, like I believe that anymore. Once I crack the drive, are you just going to shoot me like you did with Thomas Nash, or are you going to have someone else do it, like you did with Quinn?” She was taunting him, trying to get him to do something that would allow her to escape, but she also needed to know the truth. That was the event that changed everything between them. Had it all been a lie to try and use her? Had he ever cared about her?

“I didn’t know that was going to happen. That was all Garrett.” His voice was firm, trying to convince her.

“Oh, of course it was Garrett’s fault. That was part of the mission, right?” She wasn’t upset or broken hearted anymore. Every feeling in her body had turned to anger, and the perfect target was right in front of her. “You were just going to kick back, and watch me bleed, until it’s your turn to pull the trigger?”

“You think I had a part in that? That I would let that happen to you?”

She stared at him, feeling the absolute truth in his words.

“You know how I feel about you, Skye.” He moved closer, stepping into her space. “You are my soulmate. The universe put us together. We’re meant to be together, to help each other. You taught me the value of these words that I used to hate. I know you’re not like me, but if you help us, I can keep you safe. I can protect you.”

Skye scoffed. “I can’t believe you’re trying to use the soulmate angle on me.” The last little part of her that wanted to believe he was good struggled to rise to the surface. The part of her that believed in soulmates wanted to take any chance she could to be on the same side as him, to be with him. But she let her head take control, instead of giving it to her heart. “You were right about one thing. I wouldn’t like the real you.” Skye could feel the tears in her eyes, as much her grief as it was Ward’s. She watched his heart break as she pulled away from the bond.

They stood there, Skye keeping her focus in front of her, and Ward on her, the air heavy. The moment seemed to stretch on, until Deathlok came back.

Skye could tell Ward was struggling not to step in front of her to keep Deathlok away from her, but he stayed away. Even now, when they were clearly on different sides, he was trying to protect her by not letting anyone know they were soulmates.

Things changed when Deathlok stopped Ward’s heart, and Daisy could feel his pain building in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She struggled to stay upright, knowing if she fell, or gave away her breathing struggle, it would be clear they were soulmates. She had to save herself. She tried to play off the fact that she wanted to see him hurt. It wasn’t that big of a stretch. Skye wanted him to know how she felt, but when she glanced down to her wrist, her breath caught in her throat. “You” was gray, and slowly, one by one, the rest of the letters were getting lighter.

“Stop,” Skye begged, unable to watch her soulmate die in front of her when she could do something. “I’ll do what you want, just stop.”

She promised herself this was the last thing she would do for Ward, the last time she would let Hydra get what they wanted from her. Against her better judgement, she let them access the information, knowing the consequences.

Still desperate to escape, she was relieved when she stumbled upon Coulson, who was looking for her. Her team had come for her. They had found the note, believed her, and came for her. Still guilty about the drive, she followed Coulson, barely escaping on Lola.

When they touched down, she glanced at her words. Black.

—

Skye pushed back her nerves. She knew she was going to be seeing him again. They were on different sides, and from now on, she would be fighting her soulmate.

She was thankful May had come with her, staying hidden until she called for her. Because May was pissed. After the older agent had started taking over some of Skye’s training, they had gotten closer, slowly but surely. Now, as her sole SO, May was more protective.

Meaning she was ready to kick Ward’s ass, while Skye got information out of a Hydra agent. Because she wasn’t ready to fight him. He had years more training, and she didn’t want to risk having the soulmate instinct kick in, and being unable to punch him.

Satisfied that May would handle it, Skye left, no looking back.

—

She became an agent just in time for the agency to collapse, but that didn’t stop the pride she had. Her team was still fighting, and Coulson was the director of all the remained of SHIELD. Skye knew she had to be careful about saying who she was with, but it didn't matter. She knew she was an agent. That was enough for her. She was a part of something bigger than her, of something that had protected her.

Even though she didn’t get to see Coulson enough, she was able to go out in the field with May and Trip, see Mack, and… Fitz. Fitz, her friend who was still healing from what her soulmate did to him. Another thing on the list of things Skye could never forgive Ward for. That’s when she knew there was no trying to save him. He was too far gone.

It hurt, watching Fitz try and recall information, do what he used to. His brain was his tool. It hurt to watch Jemma at his side, trying to help her soulmate. It hurt to watch them get angry with each other, because the life they had gotten used to changed, and they were upset and hurting, and not sure how to handle going forward. And it hurt when Jemma left, weeks ago, leaving Fitz to get worse.

It kept Skye away from the lab more than usual. She wished things were back to how they were, but she knew it would never happen.

They just had to keep fighting.

—

The images Coulson gave her were troubling. There was no trace of them anywhere, but if John Garrett had been interested in them, they were important.

But that wasn’t what he approached her about.

“You want me to go down there, don’t you?”

“You’re the only one who can.”

Standing in front of the door that led to vault D, she hesitated. She knew what was waiting for her on the other side of the door. The reason why she was the only one Coulson wanted to go down there.

Grant Ward.

—

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

He took her in, noting the differences from the last time he saw her. “I told Coulson weeks ago that I was willing to speak to you, to give you intelligence. Why now?”

She didn’t bat an eye. She stuck to asking for what she wanted. When he tried to stray away from what she wanted, she started to leave. He didn’t want her to go just yet. He hadn’t seen her in weeks. And even though he couldn’t have her, he still loved her. The only person he had ever loved.

He tried to appeal to her, not the agent mask she had on. He told her about what he had done to himself, hoping their bond would make her soften, just a little.

“I know.” Was all she said. It didn’t matter that Coulson hadn’t told her. She had sensed it. “You should’ve run faster.”

The front she was putting on was clearly a product of May training her. He could see it in the way Skye carried herself. In the way she was determined not to give him what he wanted. A chance to talk to her.

So he told her what she wanted to hear. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t looking at him anymore. “It’s true. And so will be every word I say to you for the rest of my life. I’m not asking for forgiveness.” He watched as she turned her head to look at him. “I just want to help you.”

Before he could bring up her father, she reactivated the barrier, leaving him alone.

—

Skye was thankful for a partner like Trip. He helped balance her out in the field. They worked well together, both fighting hard after the Hydra reveal. 

He told jokes when she needed the mood lightened, and offered support when she needed it. He knew how anxious she was when Coulson didn’t tell them everything, even though there had to be a good reason. He knew she was mad that she wasn’t being trusted with everything.

So he stood at her side. He helped her by giving her things to do, to keep busy. He made innuendos when he saw where her brain was going, giving her someone who operated on a similar frequency to her.

At a time where she needed to feel tethered to something, he helped her find a way to latch onto reality. At a time where she felt abandoned by Simmons leaving, angry at her friend who she just wanted back. At a time where she had to watch Fitz struggle to recover, stumbling over his words, he would squeeze her hand.

She was thankful for a friend like him.

—

Skye realized there was more to Hunter than first meets the eye when she sat with him in Izzy’s room, packing up her stuff.

“I’m really sorry. Tough to lose people you care about.” Though she hadn’t lost anyone like he had, been with them in the car and ending up the only survivor, she understood.

“Secret to that? Don’t get attached.”

“Tried that. Didn’t work.” When Skye first met the team, they were a mission. But she had picked them, got attached. They were her family. And she hadn’t wanted a soulmate, not really. She managed to keep some distance until she was shot. Against her initial judgment, she got attached. And now her soulmate was sitting in a cell, the enemy. “For you, either.”

“You know, you remind me a bit of Izzy. Raw, but sharp. You got skills.”

Even though he could still be brash, reckless and sarcastic, she saw he could be more. She was curious.

—

Interrogating Ward was hard, but it was getting easier. She separated past him with present him in her mind. He was the enemy, an asset, a source of information. Nothing more, nothing less.

Skye took to wearing short sleeve shirts, no bracelets, her words covered with the skin graft Ward used to use. His were out in the open, as no one wanted him to have anything he might be able to use.

And no one besides their original team, and Trip, knew the two were soulmates. Skye had made the choice to tell her partner. After SHIELD fell and they were in a motel, she told him. He was part of her team, now. She trusted him, in a way she knew she wouldn’t be disappointed by.

With Jemma gone, the one person she talked to about it, and Fitz recovering, the person she let down her walls around, she needed someone to be herself around. 

He was the one who suggested wearing the graft. Show Ward she didn’t care anymore. That she didn’t need him, that she could, and had moved on. Whether she had or not, it might help rile him up.

In a small way to take revenge on him, Skye agreed.

Not seeing the words on her wrist every day was freeing.

—

He expected Skye.

She had been the only one to come down, the only face he knew.

He expected the familiar face, and voice, asking him for information he knew he would give her. Ward needed her to trust that the information was real. It didn’t matter how she felt about him, even though it stung the first time he noticed her bare wrist.

Instead, it was the face of someone else familiar, another person he hurt. “I imagine you’ve got a lot to say to me.” He waited a moment, watching. “Look, despite all of this… it’s really good to see you.” Not getting any sort of reaction that he was anticipating, he started to become concerned. “Fitz? Fitz, are you al—”

“Stop. Stop talking.” Fitz’s voice was hard to hear. It was clear he was having a panic attack being down there with him, but still, he refused to leave. “Stop.”

Ward did, taking a step back, hands up to indicate he didn’t mean any harm, even though Fitz wasn’t looking at him, and there was nothing Ward could even do to him. Because against Ward’s better judgement before his identity and loyalty was exposed, he had gotten attached. He had started to see Fitz as more than a teammate. It reminded of him of his younger years, trying to protect his younger brother against their older brother.

It was why Ward had wanted to give him and Simmons a fighting chance at survival. Why he didn’t put a bullet in their heads. Why he dropped them to the bottom of the ocean. So there was some chance they could live and fight. So he told him as much.

“I didn’t want to hurt you. I tried to avoid it.”

“You tried to kill us.”

“No. I wanted to save you. Garrett ordered me to kill you and Simmons. He expected me to put a bullet in your head. But I couldn’t. I gave you a fighting chance to find a way out, like you always do. Like you _did_.”

“Save me?”

Ward nodded earnestly.

“Do- do you- do you- do you know what the, um… What you. Okay.” He turned to the tablet in his hand. “I- you know, I have trouble with words, so, um… it’s probably best that I show you.”

“Show me what?” Ward’s voice was gentler than he had heard it in a long time. The only other person he was like that around was Skye.

“Hypoxia. Found that one. That’s what you did to me.”

“Fitz?” Ward was anxious as he heard the system start to power down. “What are you doing?”

“I’m showing you… what it’s like, when you’re deprived.”

Ward tuned out the rest of Fitz’s words. “Where’s Skye?” He knew she was probably the only one who would think to look for Fitz down there. He trusted her to stop what the scientist was doing, because as angry at him as she was, she knew he had information they needed. She wouldn’t risk losing that like this.

When he learned where she was, he started to panic, which only made it harder to breathe. He needed to protect her.

—

It caught her off guard to see Simmons with Hydra. Logically, Skye knew why she was there. The scientist was under cover. But seeing it was completely different, especially since she had just found out. Moving her finger to the trigger again, Skye made sure to keep Jemma’s cover intact. They still needed her on the inside, so she shot again, making sure to miss.

“The threat’s been neutralized.”

Donnie Gill was the first person she killed. She couldn’t let him freeze the ship, or stay with Hydra. She pulled the trigger without hesitation, knowing it needed to be done, whether she liked it or not.

Her heart rate never sped up.

—

“Relieved it’s not Fitz?” Skye didn’t sit down like she usually did. Instead, she stepped closer, stopping in front of Ward.

“Happy it’s you. That you’re okay. I’m uh, glad I could help.”

“You said Hydra had a way of convincing people. You were talking about brainwashing, weren’t you?”

“It’s not done often, but it’s done. It’s a lot of work, and some people aren’t susceptible. It’s mostly used on high value targets.” He had a feeling he knew what she was getting at.

“Like you?”

He shook his head, trying to force a smile. “I wish I could say that’s what happened.” _Another truth._ “But I swore I’d never lie to you.” The one promise he would keep. “No. I was never brainwashed. Everything I did, good and bad, I did of my own free will.”

He watched the finality of his statement wash across her face. That was a goodbye to anything left between them except for interrogator and asset.

“Do you believe I’m telling you the truth?” He wanted her to know.

She nodded. “I just don’t know why. We might be marked by each other, but we’re clearly on different sides. If your loyalty was to Garrett, why tell me the truth? I don’t know what you hope to achieve by—”

“I don’t hope for me. I hope for you. I know something.” He broached the subject carefully, knowing she could leave at any moment if she didn’t like what she heard. “And I want you to believe me when I say it.” He waited to make sure she was staying, before standing up to meet her face to face. “Your father is alive. He’s looking for you. And someday, if you let me, I’ll take you to him.”

“We’re done here.” Skye left, only when the door shut behind her. Her heart rate was climbing.

—

She knew it was risky, but she went anyways. Alone, armed with a gun, she went to the address where her father was supposed to be.

He wasn’t there, but Coulson came. At the peak of her emotions, Skye was relieved and comforted when he hugged her. She let her tears fall, feeling safe with Coulson.

Her father was nothing she once imagined he’d be. He was worse, and she knew they had to stop him. He was dangerous, and he had the obelisk.

To get the information she needed, she played the soulmate angle up. Acted like Ward was getting through to her. She knew it would work. She felt a familiar tugging in her stomach, the bond wanting her closer, since she was allowing herself to be emotionally vulnerable around him.

She stayed strong, gave him news he didn’t want to hear. And for the first time, she saw fear on his face.

—

Figuring out the carvings were a blueprint meant they were a step ahead. Ward was still in the wind, acting like he was being useful by promising gifts that Skye definitely didn’t want, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was finding the city.

Though Australia came with complications, it allowed them to find the city.

Their team bigger than ever, but agency smaller than ever, they made their way to Puerto Rico, albeit not all at the same time. Skye, May, Trip, Hunter, and Koenig needed to get Reina, first. And as untrustworthy as she could be, switching sides to make sure she had what she wanted, Skye knew, somehow, she was telling the truth about the Diviner.

The panic rose. No one should go down to find the temple. But communications were down, and Whitehall had found them.

And he had sent Ward.

Skye stared down at him, keeping her gun aimed at him, even when he turned to look directly at her, telling her she was going, too.

_Screw his promise_. Skye didn’t trust him, but she knew she had to go, even though it was the last thing she wanted. To keep her team, her friends, safe.

She glanced at her SO, the one who cared about her. May had trained her well, but she couldn’t fight her way out of this.

“Whatever happens, I can handle myself.” _Because you taught me_.

Skye kept her gaze away from the rest of the team, knowing it would make things harder. As she left, she shared one last glance with May.

—

Ward knew his orders. Grab Raina, get off the plane, then shoot it down.

But Skye was there. And he wouldn’t hurt her. Instead, he promised her if she came, too, he would let her team go. He looked right at her, trying to get her to feel he was telling the truth through their fractured bond.

Apparently it worked, because Skye came with. And like he promised her, because he would never break a promise to her, he let the team go.

—

She hated that Ward was the one to bring her to her father. In another life, it would have been nice. Maybe she would be bringing her soulmate home to meet her parents.

Instead, her soulmate was her enemy who kidnapped her to meet her crazy father, all because he made a promise to her.

She wanted out, until her father started telling her about her mother. Skye sat, still, as she listened to the story, listened to what Whitehall did. She tried to hold back the overflowing emotions, but ended up shaking anyways. Skye was almost able to forget how crazy her father could be, until he went off, calmly, to kill Whitehall.

When he left, she let herself cry.

—

Hearing that Whitehall ordered the plane to be shot down froze Skye in her steps. Ward had promised to let them go, but apparently, his superior didn’t care.

Knowing it was risky, but believing her father about this, she picked up the Diviner when it was offered to her. She stared in awe at it for a moment before using it as a weapon. She wouldn’t be hurt by it, but everyone else could be.

—

He stared as he watched the Diviner glow in her hands. He had known she was special, but not like this.

Ward, though he didn’t show it, was in awe of her. The determination she was feeling fueled him, and he stepped closer to her as the fight began, raising his gun against those he was supposed to be working with.

To protect Skye.

He saw how pissed she was when Whitehall mentioned her mother, so he moved half a step closer, putting himself between Hydra, and her.

“It’s love.” Raina spoke up, telling Whitehall his weakness. “Agent Ward believes if he helps Skye fulfill her destiny, she’ll see him for who he really is.”

He stared at her, unable to look away. In that moment, he felt the bond flare to life, before it flickered back to where it had been since he left. Like he told Skye: his loyalty was to people. His loyalty was to her, protecting her.

So he let Hydra take him away, even with the threat of brainwashing. He was stronger than the men surrounding him, and they all knew it. He didn’t care about them. He cared about Skye, and the very faint panic she felt about him being brainwashed.

Even though she had turned her back on him, she couldn’t erase their bond.

When he and Skye were tied up, he kept the attention on him, asking Agent 33 questions about her face looking like May’s. Until Whitehall came down, doing something to Skye’s father in front of her. He was anxious to see what was happening. He hated the way Whitehall talked to her, like she was just an experiment.

After Whitehall left, he used the guards left to his advantage. Taunted them so they wouldn’t notice Skye’s father getting up.

When he offered his help to Cal, it was real. Ward wouldn’t mind seeing Whitehall killed, either. But with Cal gone, it was just him and Skye. It was easy to free himself, then Skye, from their bonds. The next step was to get her out.

What he didn’t expect was her grabbing the gun from the guard, and firing it at him four times with no hesitation, no shaking hands.

As he fell to the ground, pain blooming, she stepped over him.

“Never turn your back on the enemy. You taught me that.”

—

Skye didn’t realize how easy it was going to be to shoot Ward.

Her heart rate stayed steady, and she didn’t feel the need to look back. He wasn’t her soulmate anymore.

She forced the feeling of satisfaction that was coursing through her body through what was left of the bond.

She didn’t feel his pain.

However, she felt her own as she stopped her father from beating up Coulson. She felt her own as he left, his final words ringing in her ears.

Her real name.

“I will always love you. Daisy.”

—

There was no chance of Skye coming back, so when Agent 33 found him, he offered her a choice. To help him.

It was time to move on, for both of them. To leave behind Whitehall, SHIELD, Hydra, and Skye. Start over, no ties to anyone except each other.

—

Skye’s panic spiked as the walls closed in, the Diviner kept glowing, and Trip got trapped with them.

Something inside Skye reacted when the Diviner opened, revealing crystals. Part of her wanted to move closer, let whatever was going to happen, happen. But Trip was her conscience in that moment, helping clear her mind.

Until the air blasted dust at them, and she couldn’t move.

Terrified, she reached out for Trip. She needed help, and he hadn’t failed her yet. Whatever was happening, wasn’t good, but it also wasn’t happening to him.

When the cocoon started falling away, the first thing Skye saw was Trip, on the ground, stone. Grief climbed its way out of her, and all of a sudden, she was free. The room shook, and Trip was shattered with the ceiling as it collapsed.

And somewhere, far enough away not to feel the aftershocks, Ward felt an overwhelming amount of confusion, pain, sadness and power course its way through his body. Skye’s emotions, so powerful that they overwhelmed him, flooded through the bond that was barely hanging on.

Then everything was black.

—

She hated waking up.

In her dreams, everything was okay, and Trip was alive, at her side, teasing her. How it should be. His loss hurt, more than any other she had dealt with so far. Irreversible, in front of her. Because of her. She blamed herself.

And now she was stuck in quarantine, afraid they wouldn’t clear her. Because she knew something happened in the temple.

When the team’s yelling got too stressful, her panic spiked, and so did her vitals. Everything started shaking, just like it had in the temple. Something was different. And according to Jemma, something could be wrong. Her friend, the one who she thought would always be on her side, viewed what happened as something bad. Which meant, if Skye’s blood results came back different, she would be bad.

Skye tried to distract herself with music, but her nerves were getting the best of her. When Fitz came, he brought bad news. He didn’t have to say it. She knew. Something had happened to her. She would never be the same.

It hurt watching him struggle to tell her. Because he doubted what he saw. Didn’t want to think it.

When he put in out in the open, all she wanted to do was deny it. If it was true, she could be in danger. She could _be_ the danger. It would just solidify, in her head, that Trip’s death was her fault. Her emotions built, until she couldn’t keep them in. Crying out, the lamp exploded, glass shattering everywhere.

Skye opened her eyes, and Fitz was gone, running out of the lab.

—

The glass cutting her skin stung, but she pushed the pain away. She had to do something.

And when May and Jemma were staring at her, asking what happened, Skye swallowed heavily, knowing what she had to do.

“Fitz—” her voice came out soft and broken.

“Fitz was a klutz again.” His voice became the only thing she could focus on. He came to stand in front of her. “Uh, she’s cleaning up my mess. Sorry, it was my fault. I knocked over the lamp when I was taking a sample of Skye’s blood with one of those ridiculous hazmat suits on.”

Skye didn’t know what to do. She was ready to tell the truth, even though she knew nothing good was going to come from it. And now, Fitz was lying for her. May and Simmons would have no doubt about what he said. They knew he was still working on coordination.

“Uh, I guess my coordination still needs work. But I was anxious to double-check the results. Her DNA is an exact match to what it was before. She’s clear.” He smiled, but Skye could tell something wasn’t quite right. He looked almost nervous, but the other two agents were too busy looking at the results to notice.

It was clear Fitz was trying to get Simmons to leave.

“What did you just do?” Skye let him get closer to her.

“Switched your blood results with your old sample. Give me your hand.”

“The new samples are different?” Skye knew that what Fitz said next would make it real. Unchangeable. She wasn’t ready for it, but it was going to happen anyways.

“Drastically. But until everyone around here calms down, I don’t think we should tell anybody. What with the way Simmons is acting.”

The weight of his statement sunk in. He was choosing her, to keep her and her secret safe, instead of telling the team, his soulmate.

“For now, we should just keep it between us, keep you safe until we figure it out, okay?”

She collapsed to the ground, wrapping her arms around him as he did the same to her. She cried, letting everything out. Her fears, her worries, her guilt. She knew that in some ways, right now, he was the only person she could trust in the entire world.

“You’re just different now, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

—

Her secret was out, and her panic and fear was turned around into despair and hope. It wasn’t hers, but despite everything Ward had done to her, to her team, she grasped onto it. She needed to focus on something that wasn’t destruction.

She held onto it until the fear overtook her. So she grabbed May’s gun, and shot herself.

When she woke up, she knew what she had to do. Skye packed a bag, and started to make her way to the plane. She only stopped when she heard the team talking about her. Like she needed to be locked up, like she couldn’t be trusted. People she thought of as family, talking about her as if she was a weapon that needed to be contained. And Fitz, defending her against everyone, strong in his opinion.

When they saw her, she kept going, not looking back when Fitz called after her.

After making her way to the interrogation room, she locked herself in. And even though she knew it was a bad idea, she felt like she had nothing to loose. The team didn’t trust her, and a Kree alien came to kill her. She had Fitz, and almost nothing else.

So she reached through the bond that had been dormant on her end for a long time. She passed her fear and uncertainty through the bond, desperately hoping for a response. Because no matter what, Ward, as twisted as he was, loved her. Soulmates were supposed to be supportive. Even though she had shot him, and half expected no response, she got one.

He tried to soothe her, and it worked enough that some of the tension bleed from her shoulders. Skye held on tight, the one thing that let her know she wasn’t alone when it felt like the whole world was against her.

—

Sending her powers into her arms left her with bruises and fractures. It was a pain that steadily built up, instead of showing up all at once, which is why no one noticed at first.

Skye wondered if Ward could feel it. If he cared enough.

Dr. Garner’s recommendation felt heavy in her hand. She read it over again, knowing what was going to come.

—

Even though Ward told himself, and Agent 33, that he was moving on, it wasn’t quite right. Sure, he didn’t talk about Skye, and he had covered up his words. During the day, he pushed memories of his past aside, and focused on the present.

At night, though, is when he was needed. For the first time in a long time, Skye was sending her emotions through the bond on purpose. She was letting him know how she felt.

Something happened to her. She had never been that terrified before. That lonely.

He tried to help. Maybe he was moving on, but he still loved her. They were soulmates, bound to help each other at the lowest.

When Agent 33 turned into Skye, part of Ward wanted to give in. But he knew it wasn’t her. This wasn’t his soulmate. If he looked at her wrist, the words he said to her wouldn’t be there. Agent 33 wouldn’t know about those. She thought she was giving him what he wanted.

He didn’t want a replacement for his soulmate. He either wanted the real her, or he wanted to move on.

So he made promises to Agent 33, made that much easier because she still looked like Skye. Maybe he still tried to comfort Skye when he could tell she needed it most. But he also started to move on.

—

Lincoln was her transitioner. She met him for the first time just moments after waking up, after being asleep for two days.

When she was allowed up, she was relieved to be back in her normal clothes and on her feet. It was a small sense of normalcy in an otherwise crazy world.

But she needed to go back.

—

Ward was concerned when he felt a huge surge of power and fear, with remorse at the end, come from the bond, before it went dull, cold. For two days, he got nothing. She sent nothing to him, and she didn’t respond even the slightest when he tried to send her anything. If it hadn’t been for the still black words on his wrist, he would think she was dead.

—

Lincoln watched her take in Afterlife with awe.

A small smile tugged at his mouth. It was always fun to watch someone see Afterlife for the first time.

He was glad he was able to teach Skye, fill her in where there were gaps. He wanted her to find a sense of peace within herself. Her talents were a gift. She fascinated him. While she was concerned about her friends and whereabouts, overall, she was more curious.

A SHIELD agent, brought here, having gone through the process in the old fashioned way with no prior preparation. Who clearly wasn’t ready to trust them.

Lincoln showed her his powers, unable to stop the smile. She was one of a kind, and he wanted to get to know her better. However she would let him. He knew he was getting through to her already, even if it was only a little.

He knew she had met her soulmate. A sealed bond left a certain charge, one that allowed emotions to be shared. He could feel it, and knew that if he peeled away the skin graft on her wrist, he would find her words. But he understood that was private, so he left it. However, he also knew that whoever her soulmate was, she hadn’t seen them in a long time. The bond wasn’t being maintained. It was fading, very slowly. It would never fully break unless they went through the ceremony, but it was muted.

The more Lincoln got to know her, the more a small part of him wished they shared words. But they didn’t, so he smiled, and joked, and even flirted a little.

And she let him.

—

Skye appreciated Lincoln’s gestures. He was sweet, in a way that was safe. She didn’t have to form an attachment to him, as she still wanted to leave, but she could let him in enough that he would tell her what she wanted to know.

He was so unlike Ward, but he did remind Skye a little bit of both Trip and Fitz. Kind-hearted, good intentions, smart, and knew different wasn’t necessarily bad.

His kind heart let him work with Reina, promise that she wouldn’t hurt Skye. Said she deserved the same care.

At that moment, Skye didn’t know if that was nice, or stupid.

—

The fragile hope was new. It came on the heels of confusion and anger.

Ward felt the bittersweet happiness Skye was feeling. She was close to crying, but not because she was sad. Something _good_ was happening for her, after whatever terrible thing happened.

Out of sight of Agent 33, he pulled back the skin graft, looked at his black words, and smiled.

—

Skye was overwhelmed.

Jiaying, the woman in front of her, was her mother.

Everything Skye had once hoped for felt like it was coming true. Her mother was alive. Her parents had been looking for her for her whole life. She knew when her birthday was. She was a year older than she thought she was, born July 2nd, 1988.

Even though it had to stay a secret, Skye had another reason to stay.

Dinner with her parents was stilted and awkward at first, and not at all what it could’ve been in another life.

—

He left his words alone. Something, or someone, was making Skye happy now. From what little he got, she seemed to be okay.

So he let himself get attached to Agent 33. Not in the same way as Skye. But enough to meet with Coulson to make sure she was okay. At that point in time, she was the best thing in his life.

—

Lincoln knew Skye had to trust him. When he had asked her to leave, to trust him in the fight of Cal versus guards, she did.

He had almost let her stay, distracted when she fell on top of him. But he made her leave, staying behind to fight.

Until he, and whoever this supposed friend of Skye, were taken. By Hydra.

—

Skye didn’t know what to feel. Lincoln, her transitioner, her friend, taken. Coulson, a man she trusted to always look out for her, only a few feet away from her, with her soulmate at his side.

She saw how Ward looked at her. The same way he always did. But it wasn’t the same anymore and they both knew it. Ward was moving on, with Agent 33. Skye knew that, could sense it. Despite that, he always kept part of his mind on her, part of his heart for her.

And Skye… she had moved on from Ward. Instead, she was trying to figure out just who she was.

—

“This is great. Finally got the team back together.”

Part of Ward was okay with the original team back, all charging into a mission together. It was the life he could’ve had. A family.

And when he told them his biggest regret was betraying them, it wasn’t a lie. But he was too far down his path to change.

The mission felt familiar. Though everyone had changed, he knew what to expect from all of them. Everyone acted how he expected them to, even though Fitz and Simmons going armed into the field was a bit different, until he saw exactly what happened to Skye.

Again, he was in awe of his soulmate.

—

Skye was desperate to save Lincoln. Reina told her she would, that she was the only one who could.

Seeing him flatlining in front of her caused her a few moments of panic, before she went into action. If she was the only person who could save him, she knew what she had to do. Still unsure with her powers, but knowing it was the only chance, she used them on his heart.

The monitor started beeping again.

—

Ward set  ~~ her ~~ them free.

—

Lincoln was angry, and upset.

SHIELD had attacked Afterlife, and Skye, someone he was coming to trust, seemed like too much of a coincidence. A SHIELD agent herself, with personal connections to some of the people who came.

He couldn’t believe she turned like that against them, against her own mother.

Going into the war, he sided with Jiaying, but his mind wandered to Skye. She was smart. Why was she now against them, for real?

It wasn’t until Jiaying broke a crystal as a power play, sacrificing human lives, that he realized something wasn’t right, but he didn’t want to believe it. He was ready to fight Skye when he found her free, but she started talking. She made sense.

He wasn’t the biggest fan of SHIELD, but Skye, on the other hand…

—

Losing Kara hurt more than Ward thought it would.

It’s all he could feel.

—

When Skye was alone, with her parents, mother newly dead, a curious sense of dread, sadness, and relief washed over her.

Ward felt it, too.

—

Skye went to visit her father, for closure, and to keep her promise. She needed to know he’d be okay, that his new life would go well.

When he asked her name, she had to make a choice.

“Daisy.”

—

It seemed like the right time to leave the past her behind. When she embraced the name Daisy, it felt like she was leaving who Skye was, behind.

Left her hopes of a normal family, of a soulmate, of being normal, behind. It was time for a new chapter, where she embraced her name, her heritage, her powers. Where she could make her own choices, without being dictated by the words on her wrist.

It also seemed right to cut her hair.

—

“I miss having a team around me.”

Words that Ward never thought he would say. He was trained to be a specialist, to work on his own. That changed when he became part of Coulson’s SHIELD team. He got more adjusted to the idea, that there were people who would help him, that he would help as well.

But he had pushed that away. Kept it hidden, until he reunited with the old team for one mission, because they needed him. The dormant urge to have a team again rose up. He could never have his old team back, but he could have a new one.

Even if that team ended up being Hydra.

—

Joey was the first Inhuman they got to. Daisy knew how terrified he had to be, so she made sure to tell him the truth as gently as she could. He could be a good fit for the team she was trying to build.

He had potential, but he was still learning. She understood his situation, but it didn’t make her any less frustrated that her new team was going nowhere.

She needed to do _something_ about the new threats. She needed to help other Inhumans understand they weren’t monsters. She, and the team, and especially Fitz, needed Jemma back.

Daisy was getting restless. And her blocked bond was distracting her more than it should have, only making her more restless.

—

There was anger and cruelty thrumming under his skin. Ruthlessness painted across his face, and survival instincts strong in his blood.

Ward had been trained to do whatever it took to reach a goal. Being with his old team started to undo that training. But now, away from them, with one path to satisfy his need for action and to stay alive, he had to turn that part of him off.

He had to dive head first, all in, to who Hydra always wanted him to be. He had to prove he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with, and have no hesitation in shooting or kidnapping someone.

So he muted the bond as best as he could, to keep Skye’s emotions from affecting him. He also hoped she wouldn’t be able to sense what he was doing. He didn’t want her opinion of him to sink even lower, even though he knew she would find out eventually.

She was still his weakness.

—

There was something about the portal that affected her. A loud noise only she could hear. There was something more to this than they could see on the surface.

Fitz reached the conclusion at the same time she did. His brain moved fast, and as he said the words, Daisy knew what he thought of. She said the words before he could, thankful he didn’t say them without at least having her acknowledge it.

“I can do it.” Her powers could keep the portal open. Hopefully long enough to bring Simmons back.

It was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. Using her powers like that strained her. Pain was building in her head. But Fitz, stupid, loyal Fitz, had jumped in. She couldn’t let him get stuck, too.

She forced herself to hold it longer than she should’ve. But control started slipping.

As she fell to the ground, she was distantly aware the portal was destroyed. Gone. Her heart was stuck in her throat and panic began to build.

But then. Gasps of surprise and relief. Mack at her side, a comforting presence.

Fitz was back. And so was Jemma.

—

Ward froze in his step as a ringing noise grew louder in his head, pain building. Blood dripped from his nose.

Something was happening to Skye. Something strong enough to break through the block he put up.

But just as quick as it started, it stopped.

Then pain, relief, joy, exhaustion.

—

Ward knew some of the terms he was using, some of the code names, were a bit SHIELD like. He didn’t care. He appointed himself the director of Hydra, used SHIELD terms for a reason. They were familiar to him. They also reminded him of his days with Skye.

No one else dared say anything to him about it. He had made his mark, knew that no one would want to go against him.

It was just his luck that the “new guy” turned out to be SHIELD. Lance Hunter, a man with a grudge against him.

Who knew one of Ward’s weak spots.

“This coming from the guy who shot his own girlfriend by mistake?”

Even though the comment stung, reminded him of Kara, he didn’t let it slow him down. His men were out there, looking for Hunter.

And then he spotted the Cavalry.

He couldn’t let May stop him. So he taunted her instead. Brought Kara back up, used his loss when he showed her what she could loose. It was probably the only way he could slow her down.And it worked.

But he didn’t account for how reckless Hunter was, how driven by his grudge he was. The Brit raised his gun, managing to hit Ward before he could get away.

His concentration on muting the bond slipped for a moment, sending a small wave of pain to Skye before he could stop it. He wondered if she knew her team was hunting him.

—

She was glad when Lincoln came back.

There was something between them, an urge, something so familiar that it ached. She wanted to lean into it, but she also wanted to escape it. So, instead, Daisy left it up in the air. Didn’t deny it, didn’t confirm it.

—

Lincoln was tired of being on the run, of being hunted. He didn’t trust anyone, and one of the only men he did, was now dead.

He was alone, many of his friends killed by Lash. The whole country on the lookout for him. The only bright spots were the few times he was able to call Daisy. She was a lifeline.

Though he was still unsure about SHIELD, didn’t trust the agency, especially since Lash was inside the agency, he trusted Daisy.

—

Even though life on the base was busy, Daisy tried to make time to spend with Lincoln. As the only other Inhuman now on the base, he was comforting in a way no one else was.

There wasn’t a lot of time to spend together, but they made it work.

There was something growing between them. Daisy didn’t know what to do about it yet. But she knew she trusted Lincoln in a way she didn’t with many people. Thinking back to what Trip had told her, and how he had helped her, she made a choice. 

—

“I have something to tell you.”

Lincoln turned towards the voice, noting the serious look on her face. The air felt heavy, like something was about to change.

They sat down, facing each other. The door was closed, giving them privacy in her room.

“It’s about my soulmate. I… I know that you know that I’ve met them.” She pushed her sleeve up, revealing the clear skin of her wrist. Daisy hesitated for a moment, before pulling the graft off. “I met him years ago. The first day I met the team. I didn’t know at that time if I even wanted a soulmate, and neither did he. So we ignored it for a bit.” Daisy kept her gaze off of Lincoln. Ward was a sensitive topic, but she wanted Lincoln to know.

He smiled encouragingly at her. Whatever she was going to say next was hard for her. No matter what it meant for him, this was about her.

“My soulmate’s name is Grant Ward. Yes, that Ward who betrayed us, turned out to be Hydra, tried to kill FitzSimmons, everything you’ve heard. He did it all. Before all of that came out, when we thought he was one of us… We sealed our bond. I loved him, once. And even as twisted as he is, he loved me. I hate that I’m still his weakness. When I found out who he was, it was just the two of us on that base. He had killed Agent Koenig. I was terrified, and angry. I’ve never forgiven him, but I can’t erase the bond. And I need you to know that. I sometimes still look at the words, and wonder what it would be like in a different world. I sometimes still get emotions from him, and sometimes, when I’m running on no sleep and I’m thinking about the what-ifs, I send him mine. It’s still a weak spot, even after all this time. Not everyone on this team knows. But I like you, Lincoln. If we’re going to continue doing what we are, I need you to understand what these words have meant for me, what they mean for me. I might retreat sometimes, but it’s not because of you. I’m still learning to deal with the person on the other end of this bond.”

Lincoln didn’t say anything right away. He needed to process what Daisy was telling him. He was right; it had been big. It would change things. But it didn’t have to change things for the worse. There would be bumps in their relationship. Daisy had met her soulmate, had loved him, been betrayed by him. Lincoln, hadn’t. His words were black, but he still hadn’t met them yet. They were coming from two vastly different experiences. 

“We can’t help who our soulmate is. You met yours, and thought it would turn out well. Life happens. I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel, having not met mine. But I like you, too, Daisy. I would be a jerk to not think about what you’ve been through. I can’t promise it might not hurt, sometimes. But I know why. Trust is important in any relationship, and I’m glad you felt you could trust me with this.”

The smile he was rewarded with made Lincoln believe that even with bumps they might face, they would be okay.

—

Ward scowled as he felt the affection seeping through the bond.

He could tell that it was more than what Daisy felt for the team, her family. It was something different. Something that, at one point, no matter how short, had been directed at him.

He knew he had no right to be jealous or protective over Daisy anymore. Not unless her life was in danger. That would be the only time no one would blame him for being protective. Ward had given up his right to anything of the sort when he had turned away from her and the SHIELD team, for Hydra. He himself had moved on, though she was now gone. He couldn’t fault Daisy for moving on, either. That didn’t mean he had stopped loving her, though.

Ward could tell she wasn’t meaning to send the emotions through. They were strong, though, so they came through anyways. He did his best to ignore them. She was happy. She moved on.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

—

Ward wanted someone to hurt, just like he did.

With a new tentative alliance with Malick, and information about Hive, he had to be a bit more careful. Neither man was a fan of the other.

But Ward had more freedoms, in some ways. He ignored the small sliver of his conscious that told him what Skye would think about his actions. He ignored how hurt she would be that not only was he hurting May’s ex, but Coulson’s new source of affection. They were like her parents.

Instead, he concentrated on all the rage he felt. Anger from his childhood, from Garrett, from losing Skye and Kara, albeit in different ways.

He used it, to kill Rosalind Price. To make Coulson hurt.

—

Being questioned about her soulmate, by Coulson after what happened, hurt.

Her head hurt, her heart hurt. She hated that she still felt some sort of obligation to protect him. She didn’t want to feel that way anymore, but Daisy couldn’t help it. He had meant something to her, and she had meant something to him.

“It wasn’t an act.” She sighed heavily. “For whatever reason, Ward never lied to me. And I don’t think it was just because we were soulmates. He… he almost seemed like he wanted someone to comfort him, to believe in him. Maybe things weren’t perfect even before we knew the truth. He didn’t lie; he just hid parts of himself that I wasn’t ready to see yet. Or that he wasn’t ready to say out loud.”

Coulson listened to her, knowing she wasn’t done.

“We… I think we both felt seen, and understood, by someone for the first time. Someone who understood that they way we grow up, changed how we viewed the world. As much as I hate it, I get why Garrett was able to draw him in. Why he thought he could do the same to me. Maybe that’s why fate wanted to put us together.”

“Sounds like there’s a lot you’re willing to forgive.”

“I will never forgive him.” The words felt heavy. What she was about to say, would reveal to someone else, for the first time, who Ward was. “He murdered Rosalind just to hurt you. He killed Koenig… He killed Koenig because of me.” It was the first time she said the words out loud.

“He knew once Koenig outed him as Hydra, he’d lose you.”

“And the sad part is, that’s when I finally, truly understood him for the first time. I knew a little before, but… The reason Ward kills isn’t because he feels nothing. It’s because he feels too much.” 

—

Ward had to admit. The change in Fitz and Simmons, though mostly Simmons, was almost impressive.

But that didn’t matter. What he needed was information, information the two of them knew. Splitting them up, making Fitz listen to Simmons being tortured was the obvious move.

He tried to ignore the “what would Skye think” voice in his head.

But then they took Thomas. There was only one person he told who really knew his childhood, his one other weakness.

Skye.

He forced himself to use Fitz’s obvious weakness for Simmons against them.

—

Daisy was both eager, and anxious, for her new Secret Warrior team to go on their first mission. Mack cleared them, as they needed everyone they had. Joey was still working on building his confidence, and Lincoln wasn’t very trusting of the team, save for her.

But they proved themselves. Joey, jumping in front of a bullet meant for her. Lincoln following orders. Both risking their lives to even be there.

She was proud of them. As she watched them leave, she knew they could do great things. But she couldn’t think about that now. Fitz, Coulson, Will, Hydra members, and Ward, were all on Maveth.

Daisy wanted Fitz and Coulson back. She didn’t care too much about the Hydra members, and Will could go either way. She didn’t know him, but he was important to Jemma. But Ward was the complicated one. Looking at who he was a person, she didn’t care if he came back or not. He had done so much awful stuff, had killed and hurt so many people. If he hadn’t been her soulmate, she would have no hesitations in leaving him behind. But he was her soulmate. 

Whatever happened, she would accept it.

—

Ward didn’t want to go, but Malick was convincing.

The promises that everything he had done were worth it. That the sacrifices he made, and the lives he took, weren’t for nothing. There was something bigger than what he had been working towards.

That there was a place in the world for him.

So Ward let himself be talked into it, leading a bunch of men, and Fitz. The scientist he outwardly called annoying as much as he could. He needed to push his old team as far away as possible. They would still be enemies as long as they existed. But if he was able to push them into hiding, it would be harder for Hydra to find them.

Once they were on Maveth, Ward shoved Fitz around, demanded he led them, warned him what would happen if he tried to escape.

Then, they found Will.

Ward had to hand it to Fitz; the scientist was much more daring now. To find Will and prove he was needed, to escape with him.

But as Ward set off to find them, Coulson appeared.

—

Lincoln made his choice pretty easily. 

Though he was still not sure about SHIELD, he trusted Daisy. He wanted to make a difference. So he agreed to go out in the field. He would follow her. It also helped that Joey was there. Three Inhumans who understood each other.

With the time between first meeting Daisy, and now, they had gotten closer. At Afterlife, on the phone, and at the base. Though everything that had happened since he agreed to go back to the base felt fast paced, looking back on it, it had been longer than he thought.

He and Daisy were still undefined, but there was something between them. They didn’t dare put a label on it, not yet. Especially since he now knew who her soulmate was. But they cared about each other, were heading towards being something more.

He trusted her, and as hard as it was to leave her behind with Mack to wait for their teammates who were on Maveth, he did. She was strong, and capable. It wasn’t his job to protect her. Not unless she asked for it. Instead, he made it his goal to support her.

And she came back, though not how he expected her to.

—

Daisy’s headache was growing. The vibration of the room was loud in her head as the portal opened up. There wasn’t much time before it closed. Still, the pain and noise was threatening to overwhelm her. But she knew she had to hold on. They needed to bring Fitz, and Coulson, and maybe Will, home. She was there in case her powers were needed, and because there was no way she was leaving Mack there alone.

They stood together, anxiously watching the portal. Daisy forced herself to stay upright on her feet.She needed to stay awake until they were back.

But it was getting harder. The seconds ticked by, and there was no one coming through. Resigned to the fact she might need to use her powers, because she was hoping they were just a little far away from the portal instead of something worse, she readied herself. She forced the tension in her shoulders to drop, wincing at the noise, and ignoring the blood beginning to drip from her nose. The experience, the room were taking a toll on her.

There was also a curious, burning pain that was building in her chest. Black started dotting at the edge of her vision, the strain becoming too much.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, the moment she collapsed, the noise and pain overwhelming her, was the exact moment Grant Ward took his final breath.

—

Ward struggled to bring air into his lungs as he watched Coulson, a familiar face that could've been family in another life, crush his chest with his robotic hand.

He wasn’t surprised this was his end. Here, on this distant alien planet, far from home. A place he was sent on purpose, to be used as a pawn for Hydra. It was just his luck that his former SHIELD team was there at the same time, and that they still held grudges against him.

Out of instinct, Ward tried to fight back, until he felt the first rib crack. That’s when he knew he wasn’t getting off the planet alive. The fight left his body, and he let it happen.

It seemed fitting, that he died at the hand of one of the people he hurt most. 

As he lay there, Ward let his mind drift to Daisy. At the angle his head was at, he could just barely see his words. He was thankful they were still black, but knew that no matter where he stood in Skye’s mind, when her words lightened, her life would be forever different. A full bond like theirs, ended with death, would be hard on her.

**_“Oh. Is one of them the easy way?”_ **

He smiled slightly at them. Even though their story didn’t go the way he had hoped as a child, he was still grateful he even got to meet her. Though Garrett’s influence had been too strong to shake, Skye (he still thought of her as Skye most of the time, but he was trying) had taught him what love felt like. A feeling he had been taught was a weakness, but that he used to motivate himself. A love he still had for her. Ward still got emotions from her every once in a while, and he sent her his.

He hoped that right now, she wasn’t feeling the same crushing pain in her chest. If anything, she was currently dealing with her own pain, as there was a feeling of exhaustion washing over him, and a pain in his arms. 

As Ward struggled for his final few breaths, he thought about Daisy’s words turning gray. Their story was over.

—

When she woke up, there was an extreme, sharp pain emanating from her left wrist.

The pounding in her head made it hard to open her eyes. Daisy hadn’t overused her powers like that in a while, and she had forgotten the toll they could have on her.

Groaning, she managed to pry one of her eyes open, looking down at her wrist. She went still, breath caught in her throat as she stared at the skin. The graft was peeling, revealing the first two words. Ignoring the pain, Daisy ripped it off.

_“You don’t look that big.”_

Gray. A sight she knew she might see one day. But she never thought it would be this soon, even with the lifestyle she and Ward had.

Shakily, she ran her fingers over it, feeling hollow and empty. She would never get emotions again, would never send hers to him. Daisy felt like she should’ve been a little more relieved, considering their history. Instead, she sat there, alone, shaking as tears began to form.

A bond broken by an unnatural, violent death wasn’t pleasant. The partner who survived would go into shock from anywhere from an hour, to about a week, depending on how deep the bond had been. They would feel empty, as the other half of the bond was now gone. Violent deaths cut the time the two were supposed to have with each other, and it was said the after affects were supposed to mirror the death, one last sharing of emotions and feelings.

It was hard for Daisy to breath as she squeezed her eyes shut, the rapid beeping of the heart monitor only speeding up.

It didn’t matter that she and Ward never had the typical bond, that they had both hurt each other, left each other. They had been soulmates. The loss would haunt her the rest of her life.

—

Lincoln watched as Mack carried Daisy, unconscious, into the med bay.

He moved to step into the room, when Jemma stepped in, gently pushing him out.

“I know you want to see if she’s okay, but I am her doctor. If her Inhuman biology comes into play, I’ll invite you in. But until then, I’m going to ask you stay away. You’re too involved when it comes to Daisy.”

Lincoln could see Jemma was a little on edge, the mission not going quite the way the team had hoped. But she was putting on a strong face, knowing her skills were needed in that moment. She would break later.

“Please, Lincoln. This is serious, and if what I was able to understand from Fitz is right, she will likely go into post-mortem bond shock when she wakes up.”

The term “post-mortem bond shock” sent a jolt through him. As someone who had been a doctor, he had learned about how serious the affliction could be. It cleared his head, letting him focus on Daisy. No matter what Ward had done to the team, his death would change Daisy’s life. He had been her soulmate, and they had sealed their bond.

The next few days were going to be hard.

So Lincoln stepped back, retreating to the common room where the briefing was going to be.

Jemma could handle this.

—

Daisy wasn’t aware of much the next few days. The only presence she was able to latch onto was Jemma.

Everything was empty. 

—

He loved her.

Lincoln was fully aware of his feelings, even though he didn’t voice them. Because even though he and Daisy were close, and even though they had been kind-of-dating for a few months, it was the wrong time.

There was still healing to do, since Ward’s death had left Daisy a shell of herself for five and a half days. She had been unresponsive to everyone, eyes staring at something no one could see. All things considered, it was better than what they had expected.

When she started to return to her normal self, she pushed away worries about her health. She jumped back into action, going to Colombia with Joey at her side, the two Inhumans fully cleared, and mentally ready, for combat. Lincoln still needed time to decide if it’s what he really wanted.

While part of him wished he was there, Lincoln appreciated his time in the lab with the two scientists. There was a new Inhuman that captured the team’s interest. As the resident Inhuman expert, he was invited into the conversations.

Whoever she was, Lincoln was impressed.

—

Elena was impressive.

Daisy knew that immediately. She was strong, smart, and passionate. She was a perfect fit for the team, but after their mission, it was clear Elena wasn’t ready to join SHIELD yet. Instead, Daisy worked to find a solution. And since Coulson knew how hard Daisy had taken Ward’s death, he green-lighted her idea, wanting to give her something she could be working towards and be proud about.

A watch, to keep Elena, and Joey, connected to them at all times. To let them know they weren’t alone; they had backup the moment they needed it.

A team, spread across the world.

—

Lincoln was annoyed when the team assumed what he, or other Inhumans, could do with their powers. Just because they had practice, didn’t mean it couldn’t be dangerous. Every way he could use his powers took time, practice, and concentration. Trying to do something new, especially under stress, could be fatal.

But he was supposed to be one of the good guys. He had been a doctor, knowing he was supposed to do what he could to save a patient.

So he used his powers on Strucker’s brain, tried to guide him away from the memory loop he was in.

He was lucky it worked.

—

He found her in the locker room.

Daisy turned, smiling when she saw Lincoln. “Hey, you.”

“Welcome back.” He was glad to see her, safe and sound. “So, I just ran into Joey, packing up.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “You think I’m making a mistake?”

Lincoln made a face. He didn’t think that at all. “Letting him live a normal life like everyone else? No, you’re not.”

“No, I mean… Offering you the same deal. Your APB’s been lifted. No one’s looking for you.” It was hard, for Daisy to offer. She didn’t want him to leave, especially after what had happened on Maveth. She didn’t want to loose him, too. But she owed it to him. His life was not tied to hers. It was a choice he deserved to make. “You could go back to your old life if you want.”

“I don’t know,” he smiled as he stepped forward. “It’s pretty interesting here.” He moved his head, resting his forehead against hers. A couple months ago, and he would’ve jumped at the chance. To fade back into a normal life, to not be wrapped up in silent wars, and painful memories. Now, though, he had a chance at a life he wanted. Sure, he still wasn’t sure if the field was for him. But he liked the people. He could use his powers without fear on the base, and he had Daisy.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” She smiled at him, before kissing him.

—

They weren’t soulmates, but it felt like they almost had a sixth sense when it came to each other. They also knew which buttons to push in arguments.

But they trusted each other, understood each other in a way no one else could. Being Inhumans bonded them, made them hyper aware of each other. Without seeing who was behind a door, or without saying words, they seemed to know it was each other, seemed to understand the message.

For Daisy, who had loved and lost her soulmate, Lincoln was a chance for happiness, not laid out by fate. Someone she could choose.

For Lincoln, who hadn’t met his soulmate, and might never, Daisy was a chance for a future. One that wasn’t dictated for him. A future he could write the story for. 

—

After Bobbi and Hunter left SHIELD, the best choice in a not-so-great situation, they gravitated closer to each other. Like a silent promise they wouldn’t leave the team, leave each other. Not like that.

Lincoln wanted to say those three words, but it still didn’t feel like the right time. It wasn’t that he needed her to be able to say the words back. But she deserved better than hearing the words blurted out. She was learning to be in a relationship for the first time since Ward.

It was a delicate situation.

—

Daisy liked Lincoln. A lot. It was nice to have another Inhuman around all the time. Especially him, as Lincoln was the first one she had truly met. Afterlife had brought them together, allowed them to meet. 

Now, they lived and worked together. For her first relationship post-Ward, it almost seemed too fast. But being agents changed how they did things. She liked having Lincoln down the hall, liked being able to spar with him.

She didn’t think she loved him. Not yet. She remembered what that had felt like with Ward, though that had been sped up and affected by the soulmate bond. But it was similar. Daisy knew that, in time, as she healed, she could love Lincoln. She could love him in a way she hadn’t been able to with Ward: freely, openly.

And Daisy knew that Lincoln would, too.

—

Hive scanned his new memories, ones that had belonged to Grant Ward.

While there was a lot of Hydra, there was also a lot about SHIELD. Secrets that might be helpful in fighting what remained of the agency.

And a girl. The girl with the earthquake powers. Grant Ward’s weakness. The woman he loved.

With enough probing, Hive was able to unearth a secret that only a handful of people knew. One that Hydra had never known. Until now.

Grant Ward had met and loved his soulmate. The girl. Skye. Daisy Johnson.

—

The set off to find the man who had been asking for her.

What they found was not what they expected. Another Inhuman, with interesting powers. Hydra, descending on the area, murdering the man who had called them there.

Something was changing. The Inhuman, Charles Hinton. Powers which gave a glimpse into the future, of violence and death.

Who had given Daisy one.

The clock was ticking.

—

Lincoln's heart stopped when a face he knew flashed across the screen before it went black. It was a face, a person, he had been told a lot about, differing versions from different people, but none in a positive light.

“Is that Ward?” _Is that Daisy's soulmate, somehow alive again, when her words are still gray?_

“Unfortunately… I think that's something else.” Fitz turned his faced away from him, and some sort of understanding passed between the three experienced agents in the room.

"My god... what is she walking into?” Jemma asked, almost as if she knew the answer.

Lincoln looked at them, hoping they would tell him whatever it was they weren't saying. There was apprehension in their eyes, and almost something like fear. Whatever Daisy was walking into, wasn't good.

And Lincoln needed to help her.

—

Daisy’s adrenaline was pumping as she played out the simulation and vision in her head. She moved through the motions, resorting to using her powers. But the alarm went off anyways.

Something happened. Something she didn't account for. And then she spotted it. “One-way mirror.” She stared at it, knowing someone was behind it, watching her. Turning her head, she spotted a familiar face coming towards her with a gun. Coulson.

The glass shattered as the man on the other side collapsed.

“Guess it’s a good thing I’m here," he offered.

“How did you know that—"

“We’ve been monitoring the security feed. Oh, and by the way, your chances of not going up to the roof just evaporated. Hydra's already taking Charles there now. Get moving.”

“Okay.” Daisy turned to leave. “Wait. What are you gonna do?”

“Find Grant Ward.”

She froze, not knowing what to feel. The man that had been her soulmate, who had died. She wanted to check her words, but knew it wasn't the time. As far as she knew, as recently as that morning, they had still been gray.

As if knowing what she was thinking, of the inner turmoil she was feeling, Coulson nodded. "Yeah. Day got weirder.”

—

“I have eyes on Ward.” Through the blood pouring down his face from the fire extinguisher, Lincoln could make out the figure he had seen plenty of time in archived footage and more than enough in person.

There was an anger rising in his chest, trying to consume him. This was a man who turned on the people who cared about him, who turned on his soulmate. On _Daisy_. He hurt her. Lincoln knew his fellow Inhuman wasn't his soulmate, but she was something. She was to Ward, too. The one person he couldn’t bring himself to hurt, at least physically. Just like Lincoln. He wanted to hurt Ward, hurt the man who put the woman  ~~he~~ they loved through so much. 

Through the haze, he could hear Coulson talking to him.

"Do not engage. I repeat— do not engage. Lincoln, we don't know what we're dealing with here. Pull out.”

Fighting to stand, Lincoln watched Ward leave. Knowing Coulson was right, even though he hated it, Lincoln allowed the pain to overtake him, and he collapsed.

—

That was the man that Daisy transferred her affections to. An Inhuman.

Hive watched as he tried to stand up, choosing to fall back down instead. He seemed like he would be easy to defeat.

—

“I was sure I could save you." Daisy stared at Charles Hinton. She had been so desperate to change the future. Now, she was lying on the ground, in extreme pain, living part of the vision she had seen. She knew what was going to happen. And she couldn't do anything about it.

She needed to know she could save someone. She hadn't been able to save Ward, help him get away from Hydra. She couldn't help Fitz recover after being thrown to the bottom of the ocean, and Jemma had spent months on Maveth because she couldn't do enough. Daisy carried her guilt, let it manifest into her actions.

“But you were meant to save me.” She finally understood what the visions had been telling her. She was going to wind up on that building no matter what. But if it hadn’t been for Charles, she would have died. And she was needed for something bigger.

“I finally... made a difference.”

Her heart hurt for him. She knew how he felt. She understood what it was like to get powers you didn't understand, to be different. To have your life turn upside-down. To want to save someone. To make a difference despite it all. Or because of it all.

As they lay there, flames above them, she managed to pull the wood robin out from her pocket. She had kept it with her since she got it, as it became even more meaningful since she found out about his daughter. In his last moments, she wanted him to have it. He wouldn't get to say goodbye to his daughter, but he could have part of her with him.

“I made this for my daughter. I couldn’t bear to leave them, but… I had to protect Robin from this.”

"You did.” Everything in Daisy was telling her to assure him. To help him. She could almost hear Lincoln’s voice walking her through the steps to consoling a patient. She wished he was there, to tell her it would be okay. He was good at knowing what she needed to hear.

“But now I’m afraid that she could grow up to be like me. So she will always need protection. I was hoping you could help.”

“Yes." Daisy wanted to cry. "I'll protect her, I promise— always.” She reached out to him, wanting to offer him comfort. But she forgot about his powers, thrown into another vision.

“I'm so sorry,” were the last words he said, before taking his last breath, the robin falling out of his hand.

As she lay there, she strengthened her resolve. Charles had died so she could live. She would. She would fight whatever was coming, and win. She would make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

And she would honor the promise she made him, even if it was the last thing she did.

—

Her words were still gray, meaning whatever was going on, it wasn’t Ward. It just looked like him.

Something big was coming, and Not-Ward was at the center of it.

The team split up, each with their own task. They had to be ready for whatever was coming.

Boarding the plane with Lincoln at her side, Daisy was ready.

It was time to fight.

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching earlier seasons of AOS in preparation of season 7, and I thought of this. I wanted to focus on the fact that soulmates don't solve everything. They don't always mean a happy, and easy, ending. Skye/Daisy and Ward seemed like the perfect example for that.
> 
> Though this turned out way longer than I expected, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
